The Invisible Helpers at Manna House

The Invisible Helpers at Manna House

A question I often hear from new volunteers is, “Why isn’t Manna House open on other days?” It is a good question. We’re open three mornings a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. People are on the streets and in need of a place of hospitality for showers, clothing, coffee, sanctuary, all seven days of the week.
My answer usually goes like this, “We’re all volunteers, so we all have other responsibilities that we have to do on other days. And, really, for each day that we are open, we need another day to set up, do maintenance, do laundry, keep the books, shop for things like underwear, and coffee, and creamer, and sugar. So that’s three additional days right there. And then we all need one day of Sabbath.” That seems to satisfy the questioner, and we move on.
But that question, and that answer only get to the visible practices of hospitality at Manna House. There’s a whole set of invisible helpers that make Manna House possible, and here I want to salute them.
I’m going to start with the people who pray for Manna House, for the guests and volunteers. Kathleen’s first response to the question, “What do you all need at Manna House?” is always, “Prayers.” A biblical scholar by the name of Walter Wink will tell you that prayer is part of the ongoing battle between God and the principalities and powers, the forces of evil in the world. Prayer enters into the fray and says, “We’re committing to the good, to love, to justice, to compassion, to the power of God in the world.” When people pray for Manna House, God’s Spirit of sanctuary, of love, of welcome, is encouraged and enters into the hospitality offered. So all who you pray for Manna House, you’re our first set of invisible helpers. We couldn’t do this work without you. Pray on!
A second group of invisible helpers are all those who support Manna House with donations. Since we rely completely upon donations, and don’t seek or accept any government funding, we wouldn’t get very far in the work of hospitality without our donors. We have a very faithful group of donors. Some give every month. Some give quarterly. Some give yearly. Some have been giving since we opened. Some are more recent. All are deeply appreciated. Some leave donations of clothing or coffee or other goods on my porch (or Kathleen's) and I never ever see them or even know who they are. They are truly invisible. Care for the poor is central in the Bible and is key in the Scriptures of every world religion. Our donors live out that call to care for the poor. We couldn’t do this work without their consistent care for those on the streets, and the other folks who are poor who come to Manna House.
A third group of invisible helpers are those who donate their time and talents to various tasks Manna House needs to get done that don’t take place during our regular hours. We have a person who keeps track of all the monetary donations made, and she sends out a thank you note to every donor. She’d probably be mad or embarrassed if I mentioned her by name, so I won’t do that; but I will say her work is crucial, and I’m grateful. We have persons who prepare the More on Monday meals, but are never able to actually be there to serve the meal. We have people who do the same for the monthly foot clinic meal. They all contribute hugely to the work, but they do it behind the scenes.
These are all our invisible helpers. They usually don’t get much recognition, since how can you recognize people you don’t see? But without them the visible work of hospitality would not take place. So, here’s to all of you who make Manna House possible, even if what you do isn’t immediately visible. Manna House salutes you!